The invention relates to apparatus for limiting movement of an animal such as a dog. It is common for people to tie their dogs on so-called dog runs. Typically such apparatus has a horizontal wire or a cable strung between two trees or other supports.
The prior art includes the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,953,116; 1,563,212; 1,233,649; and 729,912.
In the most simple form, the prior art apparatus will have a ring which extends around the cable and this ring will be attached to a chain which is attached to the dog. This form of the apparatus has substantial disadvantages in that the apparatus is highly vulnerable to the shocks which result from the dog running after dogs, cats or people and imposing a sudden stress on the assembly as the dog reaches the outermost point permitted by the apparatus.
Another problem of such apparatus is that the ring surrounding the cable typically requires the user to take the cable down in order to replace the ring. In at least some cases, the cable must be taken down to replace the chain extending from the ring to the dog.
It is an object of the invention to provide apparatus which is highly resistant to the forces imposed.
It is another object of the invention to provide apparatus which can be partially replaced without the necessity for replacing the entire assembly.
It is another object of the invention is to provide apparatus which will permit replacement of the assembly in accordance with the invention without the necessity of taking down the cable.
A further object of the invention is to prevent injury to the dog or other animal.
Still another object of the invention is provide a shock absorbing unit which is itself structurally strong and, thus, not vulnerable to breakage.
Still another object of the invention is to provide apparatus which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.